I'm teetering on the brink of losing my home. But this has nothing to do with the recession. In fact, I have done everything right, paying every bill linked with my home near Pueblo on time and in full since I bought it 7.5 years ago. Everything is in good condition, and I have been a model homeowner. The same thing might happen to you if you make the mistake I did — picking an area with...

There are many things most people do not sense. Many animals can sense infrared or ultraviolet light. There are clear examples where magnetic or electric fields are used by a number of species. There are molecules and structures that can sense electromagnetic wave.

This is something that should be carefully checked. Finding the reason for this sensitivity will be useful to science and the author.

Oh he's teetering on the brink alright. In order for this to be anywhere near true, he would have to have no electricity of any means anywhere near his house, have his house lined with lead, have no exposure to his computer, its monitor, any radio or TV frequencies, and no natural wavelengths.

The meter he is describing emits a periodic signal whose transmission is so faint as to be virtually absorbed by all of the other wavelengths and harmonics occurring around him.

This person clearly is either obsessive/compulsive or has an agenda and is not being honest.

If he possesses a TV anything, computer anything, telephone anything, smoke detector, refrigerator, wireless anything, dish anything; he is exposed to as much or more frequencies and radiation as the meter. If he is in range of any radio or TV tower, same thing. Fluorescent lighting? same or more exposure. Electronics in an automobile? Same or more exposure.

I will repeat, I think that finding the reason for this problem will benefit all those concerned.

I am not sure that passing a law is the best solution, but the utility companies should be concerned about people who may not want a smart meter transmitting radio output into their houses. It is possible to shield the inside of the house from external electromagnetic radiation. If the meter needs to transmit in the direction of the house to reach the receiver, then the shielding will block transmission. If it is psychological as some have implied, then it should be diagnosed and dealt with.If it is physical, it would be helpful to science to document. It would be helpful to the author to learn how he can be shielded from the effects. Something likes wearing a tinfoil hat with some extras for him. Something like a grounded wire screen for the house.

The comments so far have not addressed the key question of the editorial ??? should utilities have autocratic power?

The editorial was inspired by a utility conflict based on a health issue. But a similar problem can occur with any issue. For instance, say a utility doesn???t have enough money or the appropriate funding access to expand its power supply. So it decides instead to do an aggressive, mandatory conservation effort. As part of that, the board of directors mandates that all customers must use LED bulbs for 100% of their lighting. If you don???t want to buy all those expensive bulbs, or don???t like the quality of light they produce, too bad. If you don???t comply, the utility will cut off your electricity. That means you have to either give in to their demands or sell your house. The same scenario is what happened in the case addressed in the editorial.

What is urgently needed is the establishment of an impartial third party, with no vested political, economic, or other conflicting interest in the outcome, that can be called in to provide a voice of reason when talks between a utility and a customer are at an impasse. Nothing like that exists now. Instead, a monopoly can do what it wants, and the customer can???t pick another provider.

We have had nearly 30 years to discover the limitations of the current arrangement, and it???s clear that in a relatively small number of cases, a board of directors can be very, possibly even dangerously, unresponsive to its customers. Now it???s time to tweak the system to correct this important flaw.

For those commenters who are skeptical of the idea of electrical sensitivities, I???m very glad for you. That likely means you haven???t had to deal with this yourself, and don???t have friends or family who have had to deal with it. That???s very understandable, since it affects only a small number of people, likely well under 1% for acute reactions, and maybe 2-5% for more moderate effects, based on the few studies that have been done. Nonetheless, it???s very real, and there have been credible reports of these kinds of problems for many decades. Perhaps one of the more famous people affected is Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, former prime minister of Norway and former director-general of the World Health Organization (here???s one snippet on her: http://www.magdahavas.com/gro-harlem-br ... -waterloo/).

As far as what electrically sensitive people react to, it varies tremendously. People were reacting, long before smart meters, to sources such as telephones, cell phones, computers, microwave ovens, and various wiring configurations in buildings. Just because you react to one doesn???t mean you???ll react to another. In any case, you likely won???t know you???ll react until it happens, because there is a major shortage of adequate science.

In the case of smart meters, there is literally no health science on their effects when they are installed in a building. Because of that, there???s no way to know what forces they???re creating, or how a person can protect him or herself. Until that science exists, some people will be harmed, either short-term or long-term, because we don???t know how to design fully safe systems.

If you???re confident that electrical technology already is completely understood, you???re not following even the daily news. For instance, just in the field of physics, we have numerous clues that the Higgs boson should exist, but we don???t really know what it is, and have been spending vast amounts of money just to figure out how to identify it. Similarly, we have known for decades that a process called quantum entanglement exists, but we can???t explain the forces behind it. Same for dark energy and dark matter. Current speculation is that we don???t have a clue what makes up about 70% of the universe.

Given that, it???s perfectly logical to assume we are missing large, important pieces of the puzzle regarding what electricity is and how it acts. And since we have been exposed to it for only a couple hundred years, out of the tens of thousands of years humans similar to our current form have existed, the science of evolutionary medicine suggests this is a force some people might not be able to cope with.

Electrical sensitivity is just one of thousands of medical mysteries that stump doctors every day. If you???re not familiar with this state of affairs in the medical profession, I am again happy for you. That means you haven???t suffered through a complex chronic illness that baffles all your doctors, and don???t know friends or family in the same boat.

Incidentally, those who blame the patient for such an illness are merely following a long tradition of blaming something they can???t figure out on a psychological cause (in other words, the thinking is, ???I know everything, and I can???t figure this out, so it must not be real???). But recent history is rife with examples of illnesses previously thought to be psychological in origin that are now known to have a biological basis. Two examples that quickly come to mind are ulcers and chronic fatigue syndrome. Other diseases that manifest with some kind of indicator of aberrant psychology, such as autism spectrum disorder, fragile X syndrome, or many forms of dementia, routinely are found to have a biological basis. Blaming the patient for such illnesses has no basis in reality.

If I read your post correctly, you reason that a disinterested third party (translated: state government) could better mediate and serve us as philosopher-king-nannies, rather than could local boards. You also seem to opine that electric cooperatives are omnipotent entities with blatant disregard for their member-owners. Did you know that electric cooperative boards are themselves member-owners with no financial interest and elected from amongst their peers to govern the utility? The same goes for the many city-owned municipal electric utilities that serve a good portion of our cities.

I think the much greater threat from smart meters is from potential government coercion to demand data from the utilities. Remember, the evil utilities want to sell you more power. It is the government who want you to use less.

Let's see. Under the Ritter administration, the good gov turned the PUC into a political organ to serve his agenda of green power. He and his PUC Chair Ron Binz totally threw out the consumer advocate role of the PUC in favor of his costly and job killing green agenda. And you want that even more? Again? And what will you do when your nannies turn against you just as they did under Ritter?

Electric cooperatives are nonprofit, consumer-owned, consumer-governed, locally-controlled utilities. So are municipal utilities. Don't you think that for an essential public function that by nature is monopolistic, local control and local governance is a better way?

BTW, how's that PUC-regulated investor-owned utility thing working out for you? I think you have no idea how much the electric cooperatives in Colorado bleed for their member-owners. That's what they call their customers: Members or member-owners.

As to your scientific dissertation on electronics, electrical fields, and all of that, I do know that the electronic emissions and emanations from "smart meters" are virtually unmeasurable beyond a few feet from the devise. And I do know that such devices' output are less than a fart in the wind compared to your exposure to everything electrical and electronic out there.

Your generalities of science don't speak to this specific topic. And your total misunderstanding of electric utility governance and regulation kinda-sorta shows. Bone up on electric cooperatives municipal utilities and you will soon learn how refreshing they are in an otherwise sea of for-profit electric utilities.

Anyone who automatically sneers at someone who is in pain or having a rough time for any reason should live a day in the shoes of that person. There are many of us in this world who have illnesses that defy reason or rhyme but are indeed very real. And many of them are easy to understand if someone takes the time to understand rather than spout off. I hope that Robert will get the help he needs with this smart meter issue. No one should be forced to have something that is detrimental to their health, or that might drive them out of their home. As President of the Rocky Mountain Environmental Health Asso. I know that what Robert is experiencing is all too real.

It is sad to see so many people make comments about another persons health - who does not understand the peer-reviewed journals for findings of an association of the adverse health effects with Radiofrequency magnetic fields RF.

A person who only understands non-proof propaganda paid for by the industry themselves making money "wireless industry", for the current understanding of health issues with RF. No proof is not science - the fact there is emerging and overwhelming scientific proof showing health correlation's is enough that the WHO has classified RF as a class 2B - same as lead paint and DDT - and I guarantee - no one is going to slather their kids in DDT or paint their house with Lead Paint.

Besides the EPAct of 2005 section 1252 C. states smart meter devices are to be installed "upon a customers" meaning this is at a federal level and "optional program".

PS - Cooperatives do have limited jurisdiction under the discrimination, and not providing necessary commodity to people in the service area if they are paying their bills and a few more areas of jurisdiction. Meaning anyone who has an issue can file a complaint with the PUC and States Attorney Generals office!